Patient Zero

The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 1

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

From multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Maberry comes a major new thriller that combines the best of the New York Times best-selling books World War Z by Max Brooks and James Rollins’ Sigma Force Series to kick off the start of a new series featuring Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences.

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there’s either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills - and there’s nothing wrong with Joe Ledger’s skills. And that’s both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because he’s a Baltimore detective who has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can’t handle. This rapid-response group is called the Department of Military Sciences, or the DMS for short. It’s bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bioweapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Jonathan Maberry is the New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Ghost Road Blues, the first of a trilogy of thrillers with a supernatural bite. A professional writer and writing teacher, he has sold more than 1.000 articles, 17 nonfiction books, six novels, and two plays.

©2009 Jonathan Maberry (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Brilliant, shocking, horrifying, it puts the terror back in terrorist.” (James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author)

“Plenty of man-to-zombie combat, a team traitor and a doomsday scenario add up to a fast and furious read.” ( Publishers Weekly)

"Jonathan Maberry has found a delightful voice for this adventure of Joe Ledger and his crew: while the action is heated, violent, and furious, the writing remains cool, steady, and low-key, framing all the wildness and exuberance in a calm rationality (given an almost comic edge) that renders it as palatable as your favorite flavor of ice cream." (Peter Straub)

Action from the start!

I could not get enough. This is not your run of the mill zombie story, and will keep your attention until very last word.

Expected Misogyny

I expected a little misogyny from a book like this so I was not surprised or offended. I did, however, feel his female characters should have given as much as they got. I was ever so disappointed in Major Grace Courtland. She started out strong but acquiesced too easily when Joe Ledger acted like an ass and treated her with condescending dismissive insults. It was not a secret the two were going to have a romantic interest, but for a female reading Courtland's character, I lost respect for her immediately when she gave in so quickly and apologized like she needed his approval. The scene between them when she breaks down and confides in him is ridiculous. What self-respecting woman would open herself up to man who had just treated her so shabbily? Combat breaks open vulnerabilities and emotions, I get it, but that scene made me nauseated. Grow a pair, Grace!!!

As for the writing, Maberry's portrayal of clandestine government entities is pretty spot on. It is indeed fantasy writing when a secret government agency can operate without red tape and consequences, but the notion of flesh eating zombies is fantasy also. Awesome fantasy!! All in all, I can say this book was entertaining, albeit predictable. Everything except when I wanted to throw the book through the wall when the female characters acted so stupid. That being said, it was still good enough to read more in the series. I'll save permanent opinion when I've had more exposure. A little bit of misogyny never hurt anyone!!

Home Run - Must Listen

I grabbed this book as an unknown to me during the BOGO sale because of my recent interest int he genre - talk about lucky. Once I started it, I could not stop listening, actually felt thankful for the long commute to work so I could stick with it. I blew through the book in one week of commutes and have already begun downloading the rest of the series.

I could see a great movie out of this book!

Ray Porter's performance is masterful. I have found that a great story can be ruined with bad reading and Ray brings a stellar performance to bare on this one. I am looking forward to hearing him over the course of this series - he brings life to the characters.

Gripping Storyline and Performance!

Zombie stories have become a dime a dozen, but this particular one is fascinating. The story flowed nicely and the many voices of the narrator really helped bring it to life. I cannot wait to start listening to book number 2!

Not a fan of Zombie Tales

First of all I think I would listen to Ray porter read the phone book. This is the first Zombie novel I have listen to, and to my surprise I enjoyed it. But Ray Porter narrated it. It is well put together. I have over 700 books in my library, and seldom write a review, This one deserve your time, but be warned it is zombies, so it is a bit gory a times.

Not at all what I expected!

What about Ray Porter’s performance did you like?

He made the characters come to life and distinguished them all so well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Not your typical zombie story.

Any additional comments?

This is not your typical Zombie story. I bought this book because it was on sale. I wasn't even sure I was going to like it but I loved it!! I finished it so quickly, wanting to find out how it was all going to come together but so sad when it was finally over. The story is well thought out, the characters are well developed and the narration was amazing!! Even the science and logistical details are engaging. You find yourself rooting for even the most despicable characters once you have been hooked into their back story. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and probably will listen to it again.

Call me Joe, Joe Ledger

Would you listen to Patient Zero again? Why?

Probably not, but not because it wasn't good. Because I only ever read most books once.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Patient Zero?

The science.

Any additional comments?

I was disappointed that this isn't a series, I was under the impression that it was a zombie out break series. But it's not, every book has a different villan and a different threat. Which is OK if you're into non stop action secret agent books, which I am not...

Solid Story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed this story and will probably listen to it again after some time.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jonathan Maberry? Why or why not?

I tried the second book. Not as solid.

Was Patient Zero worth the listening time?

Absolutely. It was an intriguing story with interesting characters.

Any additional comments?

It was an interesting take on zombie fiction. I really enjoyed the military action hero aspect if not the government fanboy perspective.

Ray Porter is one of the best narrators I've heard

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This was my first "zombie" novel. It was fast paced and never a dull moment. The narrator is now on my favorite list, I'll look for more books read by Mr. Porter.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Great naration

Great Read

This book was awesome, gory but funny too, that is hard to do. The narrator was fabulous!